Qantas CEO Alan Joyce reveals plan that could restart international travel

Qantas CEO Alan Joyce says he is “optimistic” about what could be the key to unlocking international travel, even before a vaccine.

Pre-flight COVID-19 tests that could deliver results within 15 minutes could be the key to restarting overseas travel sooner than a vaccine arrives, Qantas boss Alan Joyce says.

Mr Joyce told an aviation conference yesterday that developments in testing were a “reason to be optimistic” as uncertainly lingers over the future of international flying, Executive Traveller reported.

“There’s some great developments in testing that could resolve the issue of people needing to go into quarantine,” Mr Joyce said at Wednesday’s CAPA Australia Pacific Aviation Summit, according to Executive Traveller.

He said rapid pre-flight tests, which could potentially deliver results in as little as 15 minutes, could determine “whether you’re exposed to COVID-19, which means if you pass there’s no need to be in quarantine at the other end.”

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Grounded Qantas planes at Sydney Airport. Picture: Flavio Brancaleone/NCA NewsWire

He said that could link countries with similar levels of infection, such as New Zealand and perhaps Japan and other Asian destinations.

“Then you could see ‘bubbles’ opening up one by one,” he said.

Travel bubbles have been touted as the likely future of international travel as governments selectively reopen borders at their own pace after surviving the worst of the pandemic.

Australia has flagged interest in travel bubbles with New Zealand, some Pacific nations and even Singapore and Japan.

However, the Federal Government has not given a firm date on when Australia’s closed international borders are likely to reopen.

Mr Joyce said the resumption of international flights would likely begin with quick trips to New Zealand and other destinations close to Australia, which will be serviced by Qantas’ 787 Dreamliner fleet.

Qantas didn’t expect to resume flying its Airbus A380s, which are currently confined to a storage facility in the Mojave Desert in California, for another three or four years.

Qantas CEO Alan Joyce. Picture: Flavio Brancaleone/NCA NewsWire

“We don’t see the demand for them coming back until 2023-2024 … but when the market recovers the A380s will be profitable (and) I believe these will fly again,” Mr Joyce said, according to Executive Traveller.

Mr Joyce has previously suggested the airline may resume international air travel in July 2021, with a trans-Tasman bubble earlier if possible.

Qantas has cut 6000 jobs around the company, announced another 2500 will be outsourced, and axed of its international CEO as it reels from a collapse in international and domestic travel due to the pandemic.

Last month the airline posted a loss of almost $2 billion loss for the 12 months ending June 30.

The International Air Traffic Association has said international air travel was unlikely to recover properly until 2024, with uncertainty about the timing of border reopenings the main factor weighing on international traffic.

The forecast did not suggest Australians couldn’t fly overseas until 2024, but that the volume of international flight traffic was unlikely to pick back up to pre-pandemic levels before then.